IT'S panto season and
while many of the bigger theatres in the region are concentrating
their efforts on just one story, Theatre503 in Battersea is doing
something a bit different.
The Latchmere Road
theatre is staging Cinderella And The Beanstalk, devised by
award-winning comedy trio Sleeping Trees.
The company is made up
of long-time friends John Woodburn, James Dunnell-Smith and Joshua
George Smith, all aged 25, and they promise a panto with a twist.
The plot is a good one.
A theatre company has booked the venue and they’ve bought the
costumes. But, there’s just one problem. They’ve forgotten to
cast any actors.
Luckily for all
concerned, these boys aren’t the kind of people to let an obstacle
like this get in the way so they’re just going to have to play all
the parts themselves.
"It is a mash up
of everyone’s favourite pantomimes," explains Josh. "We've
taken the traditional panto idea and given it a modern twist and part
of that has been to pack in as many of the stories as we can.
“Anyone who comes to
see the show will recognise all the characters. This time though they
all feature in one story - it's quite a hoot!"
The show the boys put
on centres on Cinderella who goes on a perilous adventure. The
scheming Rumpelstiltskin blackmails the would-be princess to retrieve
the coveted golden eggs from the top of the beanstalk in order to
recover her glass slipper.
But with Prince
Charming, the Fairy Godmother and Jack's pregnant cow all doing their
best to get in the way, the delicious, oversized eggs may not be so
easy to reach.
With so much to cram in
and with only three of them to do it on a relatively bijou stage it
has presented the trio with a few challenges.
"This has been the
most challenging show we’ve ever done,” says James. “It's a bit
out of our comfort zone as we normally don't have any costumes or
props and we build the set as we go along but with this show we had
to adapt our trademark style a bit.
“There were a few
tricky moments in terms of the staging but part of the fun has been
trying out different techniques and we’ve really enjoyed the
process and bringing the show to life.
“When we were writing
the script we actually wanted to bring in more characters but there
are only three of us and it’s also quite a small stage. However,
because there is so much in it and there are about 40 characters,
there is barely a moment when we are still and costume changes have
to be very quick!
"It's really funny
though and lots of silliness which we love and part of the charm
comes from manically having to change costume in a matter of seconds.
There's plenty of singing, dancing and fighting that goes on too and
it’s deliberately chaotic - although by the end we are exhausted!”
It is the first time
the Latchmere Road theatre has put on a festive family show and
although John says the trio are really looking forward to it, he
admits to a few nerves.
"It's the first
Christmas show for the theatre so we are really pleased to be part of
that but there is also a certain responsibility to make sure we do a
good job," he says.
"For us it’s a
new experience too as we’ve never ventured into panto before, or
doing a show for younger audiences so we are a bit nervous about it!
“But it’s been
great fun devising it and trying to get all those classic stories and
characters into one show.
“It’s also been
fantastic for us to branch out and do something a bit different and
add another string to our bow - we are really excited to see what
audiences make of it."
Cinderella And The
Beanstalk is on at Theatre503, Latchmere Road from Tuesday December 2
until Saturday January 10. Tickets cost £15 or £12 concession, with
a £10 under 16 ticket. Pay what you can Sundays.
Visitwww.theatre503.com or call the box office on 020 7978 7040.
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